1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a warhead for dispensing one or more penetrators and a method of using the warhead.
2. Description of Related Art
Projectiles, such as rockets, missiles, and the like, find a wide range of very demanding applications. They are frequently employed in many different scenarios with varying degrees of lethality, i.e., the ability of the projectile to disable or destroy its target. These scenarios may range from anti-personnel missions to the delivery of an explosive or a kinetic energy payload to disable, or even destroy, a target. Because of this potential lethality, much consideration is devoted to the design of such projectiles to achieve improved performance. One particular characteristic that is considered is the projectile's “radius of effect”, which is the area over which the projectile inflicts damage, expressed generally as the radius of the area.
Some projectiles have a large radius of effect, while others have smaller radii of effect, depending upon the type of target being addressed. Some projectiles, for example, include an explosive warhead that is detonated near or upon contact with an intended target. Such projectiles may have a rather large radius of effect that is commensurate with the explosive warhead blast radius. While effective, such projectiles typically carry a large amount of explosive material, and, therefore, require careful storage and handling. Explosive materials also have a “shelf life.” In other words, the explosive materials degrade over time and, depending upon the material, may become less effective and/or more sensitive to inadvertent detonation. Further, explosive warhead projectiles are typically destroyed when their warheads are detonated, so the projectile cannot generally be used to impact the target.
Other projectiles dispense a plurality of grenades or “bomblets” just before the projectile reaches its target. Such projectiles can also have a rather large radius of effect, which corresponds to the area over which the grenades or bomblets are dispersed. The grenades or bomblets are dispensed radially or aftwardly from the projectile. In some embodiments, the projectile rotates about its longitudinal axis (i.e., in the “roll” direction) to produce “centrifugal” force (i.e., an inertial force of rotational motion). The centrifugal force is used to dispense the grenades or bomblets radially from the projectile. In other embodiments, the grenades or bomblets are ejected using a gas or the like aftwardly from the projectile.
In either case, the velocity of the grenades or bomblets relative to the projectile decreases considerably after they are dispensed. The grenades or bomblets include explosive materials that are detonated near or at the target to inflict damage on the target. Thus, such projectiles also suffer from specific shelf lives and generally require careful storage and handling. Further, as in those having explosive warheads, such projectiles are typically destroyed when their warheads are detonated, so the projectile cannot generally be used to impact the target.
Yet other projectiles use their kinetic energy to impact a target, disabling or destroying it by the force of the impact. Such projectiles are often referred to as “hit-to-kill” projectiles. Generally, they employ some sort of dense penetrator that, in concert with its very high velocity, imparts a tremendous amount of kinetic energy on the target. Their radii of effect generally correspond to the radius of the projectile and, thus, are not as large when compared to the projectiles described above. These projectiles, however, are generally lighter weight and have longer ranges than the types discussed above. Further, because they use kinetic energy rather than explosive energy to disable or destroy the target, they are less sensitive to handling and storage and have longer shelf lives.
Certain scenarios and/or targets, however, require a larger radius of effect than can be provided by a conventional kinetic energy projectile. Consider, for instance, a pair of tanks traveling alongside one another. A kinetic energy projectile may be used to disable one of the tanks, but the other may remain viable. “Lethality enhancers” are one type of warhead that has been employed in such situations where a larger radius of effect is desired than can be provided by a kinetic energy or other projectile. Many such conventional warheads comprise fragmentation warheads that, when detonated, send fragments of material into the target. When activated, such warheads inherently destroy portions of the projectile. These warheads, therefore, must be activated very close to the target, so that other portions (e.g., kinetic energy penetrators) of the projectile can inflict damage on the target.
The present invention is directed to overcoming, or at least reducing, the effects of one or more of the problems set forth above.